The only event of its kind in Australia, the biennial Australian Antarctic Festival brings Antarctica to the Hobart waterfront. The Festival provides visitors with the opportunity to enjoy a fascinating program of Antarctic science and discovery. We also celebrate the rich international connection with the Antarctic and Hobart’s position as a major Antarctic gateway city.
Visit Hobart and learn what Australians do in the highest, driest, windiest and coldest place on earth.
COMING SOON:
22 TO 25 August 2024
Explore our five-day program of exhibitions, tours, displays and lectures, almost all of it completely free to the public.
Thanks to the commitments made by Events Tasmania and City of Hobart, planning is well underway for the 2024 Australian Antarctic Festival …watch this space!
The City of Hobart: Australia's Antarctic Port
A thriving centre for science, logistics, shipping and crew transport servicing the Southern Ocean, Sub-Antarctic Islands and Antarctica itself.
The Festival is a time to celebrate the work of the Antarctic community and the huge contribution it makes to the social fabric and working economy of Tasmania.
Family Day
28 August 2022
Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum
The lawns of the Museum will hosts a special family day where visitor can meet working sled dogs and speak with team members from Sled Dog Adventures Tasmania on the history of sled dogs.
Open 7 days a week, the museum is a remarkable immersive experience, full of authentic artefacts and equipment from this historic expedition.
Fantastic Antarctic Festival Flights with Chimu
Fly into the night and witness one of the world’s natural phenomena, the Southern Lights, also known as the Aurora Australis or Nuyina! Join us for this unique experience before touching down in Hobart to celebrate the Australian Antarctic Festival.
Antarctic Stamp and Postcard Exhibition
26 to 28 August 2022
Princess Wharf No.1
This is a non-competitive Exhibition with limited frames available. Exhibits of philatelic material, postcards and Antarctic collectables are eligible to be shown. The standard 16-sheet APF frames will be used and a unique silver exhibition medal will be presented to all exhibitors.
Chilled: Antarctic Life
Inside and Out
8 July to 29 October 2022
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
FREE EXHIBITION
Days of dark and nights of light. Blizzards and katabatic gales. Remoteness like no other. Accidents, incidents, celebrations and distractions. A unique insight into the lives of Antarctic expeditioners.
Penguin Rookeries
25 to 28 August 2022
Mac 2 Tasports Cruise Terminal
Primary schools from across Tasmania and Antarctic Treaty Nations are invited to paint and decorate pre-cut plywood penguins for display as Rookeries at the Festival. Visit the displays and wander through the rookeries to see an array of wonderfully diverse creative expressions from primary age students from around the globe.
Antarctic Expo
26 to 28 August 2022
Princes Wharf No. 1
A free exhibition featuring large equipment used in Antarctica, displays from companies/agencies that work in Antarctica, and presentations from Antarctic experts that range in topic from its history and inhabitants, to science, research & travel.
A Portrait of Solitary Beauty
25 August to 4 September 2022
Historical Bonds Store
TASMANIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY
The world premiere video installation of “Antarctica” by René Koster and Michiel Borstlap. and the Australian premiere of “Stillness I and 11” by Esther Kokmeijer and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) presented by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
HMAS Brisbane Ceremonial Sunset
26 August 2022
Princes Wharf Forecourt
A guard from members of the visiting HMAS Brisbane and the the Tasmanian contingent of the Royal Australian Navy Band will present a traditional ‘Ceremonial Sunset’ at 5:30pm. The ceremony consists of the ‘Beat to Quarters’, saluting the lowering of the Ensign at sunset and a volley of shots saluting the knell of parting day.
Looking for a place to stay in Hobart?
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO ©Ballantyne Photography/AAF FOR GRANTING THE FESTIVAL PERMISSION TO USE THEIR IMAGES.
Become involved and support our work
Help conserve Australia’s rich Antarctic heritage.
The Foundation is a not-for-profit charity seeking funds to promote and encourage public interest in the nation’s Antarctic history, including the conservation of Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison, East Antarctica.
The Mawson’s Huts Foundation is a registered Deductible Gift Recipient with all monetary donations tax deductible.
